Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire guím gach rath ar Eamon Ryan cibé cén bealach a shiúlann sé anois. Freisin, tugaim aitheantas don méid oibre a rinne sé.

Fillim anois ar cheist na Palaistíne agus an t-ár brúidiúil, marfach atá ar siúl fad is atá muid i mbun cainte anseo. Rinneamar an cinneadh ceart an mhí seo caite ar an 25 Bealtaine nuair a thugamar aitheantas don stát neamhspleách Stáit na Palaistíne. Is í an cheist anois ná cad iad na céimeanna eile atá le tógáil. Tá práinn le céimeanna eile. I am going to return to the question of Palestine where genocide continues as we sit here peacefully speaking in this Parliament. I say with the greatest of respect to the government of Israel and to the Jewish population that they are carrying out a genocide. We took the right step on 22 May 2024 when we recognised the State of Palestine but, for that decision to have meaning, we now need to take further steps. Clearly, Israel and its army and government is out of control. They simply know no bounds and are not listening to anyone. I say that in the context of the facts today. More than 37,202 Palestinians have been killed with nearly 85,000 Palestinians injured. I also acknowledge that 1,200 Israelis have been reported killed and nearly 5,500 reported injured. Some 17,000 children are now known by a number of letters: wounded child with no surviving family, WCNSF. Some 70,000 units have been destroyed and 1.7 million people in Gaza displaced. The facts are important. It is important to let them out in view of the propaganda and the narrative that is going out from the Israeli ambassador and Israeli spokespeople. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has said that 1 million Gazans face death and starvation by mid-July, while 100% suffer from trauma and depression. Some 8,000 children aged under five have received treatment for severe malnutrition. I could go on with the number of aid workers and journalists who have been killed. What I want to focus on in my last few seconds is to ask the Taoiseach what steps he is going to take to give a reality to the recognition of Palestine as an independent state. The first one, of course, is to stop the travel of American soldiers and arms through Shannon Airport. That is the most basic step we need to take. We need to end the export of dual-use goods, which have increased tenfold in one year. We need to enact the occupied territories Bill. Regarding the EU-Israel association agreement, why have we not acted on that and on the humanitarian clause as a basic step? It is as basic as inspecting the planes going through Shannon Airport. These are basic steps to be taken if we are to give substance to the recognition we gave a few weeks ago to Palestine.

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